[9] Lee returned to the Legislative Yuan in 1996 by winning his old seat, this time on behalf of the Taiwan Independence Party.
[14] During a session of the Legislative Yuan that began in September 2000, Lee contested an internal election to lead its judiciary committee.
A legislative confirmation hearing was held in June 2002,[16] and Lee was installed within the Examination Yuan as a minister without portfolio in September 2002.
[23] Lee was supportive of amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure [zh] discussed in 2001 to limit the role of judges and give more powers to prosecutors.
[32][33] Lee has also opined on political processes and tools,[34] such as opinion polls,[35] party switching,[36] on Lo Fu-chu's 2001 attack on Diane Lee,[37] and Fu Kun-chi's 2009 divorce from Hsu Chen-wei, after which Hsu was appointed deputy magistrate of Hualien under Fu.